I could hardly put this book down. It picks up right after Book 1, Glamorous Illusions, ends and continues on with Cora Diehl Kensington on her grand tour of Europe with her new found half siblings and their friends. Their tours guides, Will McCabe and his uncle, continue on with added security after their last episode of violence and fear for the lives of their touring party.
While Cora continues to make her half brothers and sister like her, she finds herself even more sure of her feelings for Will. But she knows her real father, Wallace Kensington, will never agree to her relationship with someone who is now beneath her new station in life. While she struggles with that, the charming Pierre de Richelieu, who offered them sanctuary in his grand castle in Book 1, plans on meeting with the group soon. She knows heā€™s in love with her, but her heart is still struggling with her emotions.
More suspense and intrigue follow them through France, Austria and Italy, as they pick up a new traveler, Art Stapleton, who has introduced them to the new Kodak camera. Heā€™s constantly taking pictures and it makes you wonder what heā€™s really up to.
This book ends with the promise of another book, Glittering Promises, and I can hardly wait. This is definitely a series you need to start reading with the first book. Each story builds on the other and it is pure enjoyment! This book has it all...history, romance, suspense. It is Christian fiction, but not preachy, so I think anyone would love it. ( )

I loved the first book in this series, but was bitterly disappointed with this, the second book in the series. Early on, the writing style was enough to keep me engaged, but after awhile, the repetitive story-line started to grate on me. There was little happening besides the forbidden romance that dragged on and a lot of unrealistic mystery scenarios where the characters could quite easily have protected themselves with an ounce of commonsense. ( )

NOTE: The eARC was provided by Netgalley.

This was one absolutely spectacular story with amiable characters, marvelous sights to mind-see and great conflicts to work through. I'm happy that Grave Consequences not only met my expectations but very well exceeded them. As a follow up to Glamorous Illusions, I'd been afraid of how Mrs. Bergren will continue with the development of the story and characters, but now I know there was no need to worry.

I was up for the Grand Tour adventure as soon as I started reading Glamorous Illusions, and now that I've finished Grave Consequences, I can say that I'm thirsty for more. I hope there's a third book to end off the tour, because I'm really looking forward to reading about all those great castles, fancy palaces and gorgeous nature sights that Mrs. Bergren enticed me with!

Now, let me plunge a little deeper and say something more about the characters and the events that took place. I'll try to keep it as spoiler free as possible.

With all that said, I want to mention that there were lots of events that seemed foreshadowed, but I couldn't really figure them out until the right time came for them to occur. Like the appearance of Art Stapleton, Cora-and-Pierre and Cora-and-Will relationships, Nathan Hawke, etc. I mean, it was easy to guess when there was something fishy going on around a person, but you could never guess exactly what was happening until it happened. That was nice. On one side the reader isn't really kept in the dark, on the other - there isn't all that much revealed to drive to boredom.

So, let's say a little about Cora. Our dear miss Kensington, the newest one, is little by little growing into the family. She's getting to know and care for her siblings with their ups and downs. She's also getting to know herself as someone other than the Cora, the poor girl from the Montana dry field. She's getting to know herself as a wealthy man's daughter, as someone who can mingle into society. And she's grown into a woman who can love, a woman who can explore her heart, and a woman who trusts God one hundred percent of the time. I admire her for that.

William McCabe was a nice guy, whose heart betrayed him by falling in love with Cora. Of course, Cora is off limits for too many reasons. But as the tour went on, things progressed and became even more complicated. And Will had to develop a strong character and will in order to keep himself sane and out of trouble. Not that it worked in the end, but still.

If I'm to keep this review spoiler free, this would have to be the end of it. If I managed to intrigue you, then go ahead and grab a copy of Grave Consequences - I assure you, you won't be sorry. I definitely am not. ( )

"How much did we do in life that was the result of what others around us demanded? Rather than what God was calling us to do?"

Cora Kensington has it hard. Taken from her comfortable country home and parents, she's brought into a well-to-do family she didn't know she belonged to until recently. Lime-light didn't seem to suit her, but now she has a part to play in it, and she must learn to cope with it. As well as her biological father's wishes for her.

This is the second book in Lisa T. Bergren's Grand Tour series, and although I didn't read the first, I didn't have a difficult time in finding my way around this one. It wasn't exactly stand-alone, but it was understandable and made me want to pick up the first book of the series.

Ms. Bergren takes us on our own Grand Tour with her rich tapestry of writing and flowing descriptions of places most of us are likely never to travel. Full of gorgeous imagery, at times you can almost smell the places Cora and the others are visiting. Add a little romantic angst, (and who doesn't love that?!) a little intrigue, and a little suspense, and you have a wonderful book to spend your weekend with. Recommend!

**My thanks to David C Cook publishers for providing me with a copy in exchange for my honest review. These thoughts are my own, and I was not required they be positive.** ( )

Title: Grave Consequences (The Grand Tour Series #2)
Author: Lisa T. Bergren
Pages: 430
Year: 2013
Publisher: David C. Cook
Grave Consequences picks up right where Glamorous Illusions left off. It seems like the reader is just turning the page to go to the next chapter instead of starting a new book. With the beginning of a new book, the setting is still France; however, the group has left Paris and travels to Provence. They also travel to Geneva, Vienna and Venice during this portion of their tour.
Cora seems wishy-washy in this installment. I didnā€™t like how she treated Will and what he had at stake if he pursued their relationship. I also found it hard to believe that she thinks after this tour of Europe among the rich and famous she is just going to go back to college, complete her teaching degree and get a teaching job. She has had a taste of the finest life has to offer and I think she is kidding herself that she will be able to just give it up and pick up her old life easily. A man like Wallace Kensington always has his own interests held first and is at home being in control. Can Cora stand up to him to get the life she wants? Is she really a part of the Kensington family or does she just share their name?
I enjoyed the first book in this series, but this second book seemed to drag. It easily could have been shortened by 50-75 pages and would have taken nothing away from the storyline. There were some suspenseful moments. I still enjoyed reading about all the different places visited and liked the authorā€™s descriptive words, allowing me to imagine what these places might have looked like. The details depicted make me want to travel to some of these places. The third book in the series, Glittering Promises has just been released and will be reviewed here soon. I want to read the third book to see how the lives of these characters pan out. I hope in this last book in the series the plot moves faster and is less wordy.
My rating is 3 stars.
Note: I received a complimentary copy for an honest review of this book. The opinions shared in this review are solely my responsibility. Other reviews can be read at http://seekingwithallyurheart.blogspot.com/ . Also follow me on Twitter @lcjohnson1988, FaceBook at https://www.facebook.com/lisa.johnson.75457 ( )